Dr. Rhon opens season three of Stone Written by unpacking a phrase that’s stuck with her all year: Black studies was “born moving.” Tracing the field's movement roots, she makes the case for the Sonja Haynes Stone Center as an academic and cultural institution — not an “affinity center” — and explores what it takes to sustain that mission today. Along the way, she reflects on Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone’s legacy, the false choice between movement and institutional stability, and why she's inviting listeners to become stewards of the Stone Center's future. Part reflection, part call to action, this episode sets the tone for a season about memory, purpose, and moving forward without losing who you are.

Sources:

• The Black Studies Podcast featuring Dr. Rhon (April 17, 2026)
• The Sonja Haynes Stone Center linktree

In this episode of Stone Written, Dr. Rhon sits down with Kara Endsley, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center's first full-time Philanthropy Officer, for a candid conversation about fundraising, legacy, and the urgent work of securing the Stone Center's future.

Kara brings over 30 years of fundraising experience — and a deeply personal connection to this mission. Together, she and Dr. Rhon pull back the curtain on the real challenges facing the Stone Center: limited resources, disenchanted alumni, and the repair work needed to rebuild trust with a community that has every reason to be skeptical.

But this episode is also a call to action. With a bold $25 million campaign underway and the fiscal year closing in, now is the time to show up. Whether it's $20 a month or $20,000 — your investment is your vote for the Stone Center's survival and its legacy for generations to come.

Sources:

• Get in touch with Kara Endsley, the Stone Center’s Philanthropy Officer, via email or our website.

• Make the Sonja Haynes Stone Center your philanthropic priority!

• The Sonja Haynes Stone Center website and linktree.

• “Defining Philanthropy” as love of humankind (May 2026) by Michael Layton.

In this episode of Stone Written, host Dr. Rhon sits down with Dr. Donovan Livingston — educator, poet, MC, Chapel Hill Poet Laureate, and UNC alumnus who initially struggled to make it through. Now back at Carolina as Teaching Assistant Professor and Director of College Thriving, Dr. Livingston reflects on the full-circle journey from undergraduate to community leader and scholar.

They dig into what it really means to thrive — beyond GPA and accolades — and explore the dangers of hyper-visibility in the social media age. Dr. Livingston gets candid about what it was like when his 2016 Harvard graduation speech, Lift Off, went viral, racking up millions of views and a shoutout from Hillary Clinton — and why going viral isn't all it's cracked up to be.

From the power of educators who make room for students to become themselves, to the concept of "body fictions" and the false intimacy of social media, this conversation moves between the cosmic and the deeply personal. Expect poetry, real talk, and a cipher or two.

Sources:

• About Dr. Livingston (via UNC-Chapel Hill)
• Dr. Livingston’s famed speech, Lift Off
• College Thriving curriculum at UNC-Chapel Hill
• Debra Walker King, Body Politics and the Fictional Double (2000).
• The Sonja Haynes Stone Center